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I just made this meal for dinner, and it is absolutely delicious. I followed the directions and got perfect results! Thanks so much for sharing.
Shayla
Meal prep is the best. You open the fridge and find those little gifts you left for yourself: pre-chopped veggies, jars of sauces, freezer meals that are ready for the Instant Pot, and your little Tupperwares of soup that are ready for a quick heat-up for lunch.
So yes, meal prep is the best.
….Until it is the weekend.
And you need to do meal prep. And Saturday goes by, and then Sunday, and COME ON you’re just trying to relax and live your life a little bit, do you really need to spend hours and hours prepping stuff for the week?
And then the weekend is over, and you open the fridge and realize that living your best life on the weekend equals empty fridge shelves on Monday. Which is sad.
Enter: this series. 15 Minute Meal Prep.
Every Friday for the next 6 weeks, I’m going to pop a quick – and I mean QUICKITY quick – 15 minute meal prep recipe onto your screens.
I’m calling it 15 Minute Meal Prep – as in recipes that really only require 15 minutes of hands-on time and can be done while preserving 99.9% of your relaxing weekend time. These are the meal prep recipes I actually make in my “real life” – the one with a new baby and a halfway-clean house and a tiny bit of sleep deprivation and a dog who won’t pacing the house and howling for dinner at 4:30pm.
And yes, since we’re in the middle of Sugar Free January, they will be nutritious and sugar free and really, actually, you won’t even notice because YUM.
First 15 Minute Meal Prep recipe: Creole Chicken and Sausage. It’s somewhere in the neighborhood of thick soup / stew consistency and loaded with rich, peppery flavor from the andouille sausage, bell peppers, and Creole seasoning which I’m usually able to find in the spice section of most grocery stores.
It can be served on rice, cauli rice, polenta… your call. And most importantly, it’s made in the Instant Pot or slow cooker for ultimate fast-and-easiness.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
(I mixed it with rice here ^ but you do you!)
It’s kind of a stew, except trade beef and potatoes for spicy andouille, shredded chicken, fire roasted tomatoes, and creole spices. Add whatever veggies are in the fridge, top with some greens, and yeah.
Lunch this week is looking pretty good.
Watch How To Make Our Creole Chicken and Sausage:
Source notes: Creole cooking originated in Louisiana and blends West African, French, Spanish, Amerindian influences. This is a simple, paired down version of Creole cooking that includes classic Creole ingredients such as Andouille sausage, chicken, bell peppers, Creole seasoning, and rice. While it is not a traditional Creole recipe, it is delicious and flavorful!
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Instant Pot Creole Chicken and Sausage
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Creole Chicken and Sausage – Meal Prep Style! Shredded chicken, andouille sausage, creole seasoning, a rich tomato sauce, veggies, and rice. Cooked in the Instant Pot or slow cooker!
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 12–16 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced
- 1 14–ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- 2–3 tablespoons tomato paste (optional – it makes it thicker)
- 2 green or red bell peppers, chopped
- half an onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- 1–2 teaspoons salt, if your Creole seasoning doesn’t have any
- serve with – rice, cheese, cilantro, green onions, hot sauce, sour cream, etc.
Instructions
- Prep all your ingredients.
- Cook everything together in an Instant Pot on manual high pressure for about 8 minutes. (Freezer times listed below.)
- Shred chicken directly in the pot. Taste and adjust, and serve over rice topped with anything your fancy lil heart desires!
Equipment
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Buy Now → Notes
Freezing: You can freeze this by assembling everything in a bag or container (see this post for my recommendations) and then popping it into the Instant Pot from frozen! yay! and cooking on high pressure for about 15 minutes.
Sausage: My first choice is Andouille sausage, but I’ve used kielbasa as well which is also delicious. You can cook this in the Instant Pot with the chicken and vegetables as directed, OR you can pan-fry your Andouille / kielbasa to get the edges a little bit browned and then just add it in at the end.
Extra Veggies: I have added butternut squash, corn, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, and other vegetables to this with great success! Clean out your fridge + get some extra nutrition.
Texture Variations: You can play with this a little bit. If you want it more saucy, add another can of tomatoes or a cup of tomato puree (that’s what the original recipe calls for). You can also make things a little creamy by adding some Greek yogurt, sour cream, or my personal favorite – a spoon full of almond butter. Don’t knock it till you try it.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Creole-Inspired
Keywords: instant pot creole chicken and sausage, creole chicken and sausage, instant pot creole recipe
FYI – The original recipe for this was posted a few years ago as a slow cooker recipe – this version just has a simplified ingredient list and has been modified for the Instant Pot!
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our best healthy meal prep recipes page. Check it out!
We love this recipe in my house – 2 year old included! We make it at least twice a month. I love how easy it is to prep the ingredients in advance, then just throw it all in the Instant Pot close to dinner time.
Still Prepping and Cooking (1star for instructions):
Maybe I’m missing it somewhere….but I’m not seeing cook times or instant pot settings…..or how much extra fluid to add to avoid “burn”
Mine is in the IP as we speak and it smells wonderful! I am wondering about a NR or not. I think because it’s chicken (any meat, really) it’s best to do a NR to avoid tough meat. That might be the error from some readers below. Maybe that could be added to the recipe? Also, I did not get a burn notice. Be sure not to stir once you add everything. Just layer it all on top. I did remove the chicken and use the saute setting with the browned chorizo sausage in the broth (whoops, thawed the wrong sausage!) to be sure it was cooked through and to thicken it up a bit. So yummy!! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
This is so good we literally have this on rotation monthly I love adding cauliflower rice and spinach
Is it possible to make this in the slow cooker? If so, how long would you cook it? Does the sausage get weird cooking for that long?
Here’s the slow cooker version! 🙂
Can I cook from frozen in a crockpot instead?
First recipe I tried from this blog and it was delicious!! It had just the right amount of spice. Really good winter meal as it’s def very filling.
Glad to hear it, Jenny! Welcome! 🙂
Crowd pleasing dish right here! Everyone I’ve served it to loves it, and it comes together so easily in the instant pot that I make it for a weeknight dinner, or when when I need something that will stretch and feed a good size group (we have lots of teenagers around). I ladle it over rice to serve generally, but I follow a Keto diet so I ladle mine over spinach or roasted cauliflower. Sour cream and cilantro garnishes are a must! The recipe hits every time.
This recipe is awesome. The whole family loves it. I’m wondering when you add the yogurt or almond butter. That’s sounds very intriguing.
Let me first say I am not a pro at using the Instant Pot but I thought I would give this recipe a try. My chicken came out a little rubbery and it was a little bland for my taste.
The dish tastes good, but I’m convinced it can’t be made without a burn warning. I’ve made this several times without success. I’ve never gotten a burn warning with any other recipe.
When you finally at enough water to not burn it, it comes out watery, at least it still tastes good, but I think I’m done trying this one.
Delicious and crowd pleasing meal! Thank you! I sautéd the onion + pepper + added 2 stalks celery in the IP for a bit then added garlic (about 5 cloves) until fragrant and tomato paste until slightly browned. Turned off the sauté and added Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning along with the tomatoes, sliced andouille, and frozen chicken breasts. Cooked as directed, served over rice with broccoli and the 10 and 14 year olds ate it without complaint!
Great recipe! I used a bit more chicken and less sausage as that’s what I had in the fridge.
Amazing flavor. Anyone who says it lacks flavor maybe didn’t use the fire roasted tomatoes; I find those always add great flavor. No burn notice as others have reported, put the crushed tomatoes in first so the bottom of the pan has liquid. Also the tomatoes and peppers breakdown and release a lot of liquid. Definitely recommend the 2 tbsp tomato paste to thicken.
Unfortunately as another commenter said, the chicken was so rubbery/tough that it was we could not eat it. I tried to shred it in the pot and it wasn’t working, so I tried cutting it and my sharp knife just wasn’t cutting. I tried a piece and couldn’t believe how awful it was and had to spit it out. Lucky this recipe also had the sausage as that’s what we ate with the veggies.
I will make this again but probably cook this on the poultry setting for 20 minutes as this usually give me good results.
TOOO GOOOD! My very first instant pot recipe ever. Just got it from my sis for my 40th bday. Wow, I’m glad I read the part about making it creamy by adding almond butter at the end. I used sun-butter instead and it is absolutely amazing. Must try a nut or seed butter at the end.
This was SO good. I left the tomato paste out until I pulled the chicken breasts out, mixed the paste with the rest of the ingredients, then added the shredded chicken back in. I’ve found that if you do a natural release the chicken doesn’t come out rubbery. While I was waiting for the release I made some cheesy Zataran’s jambalaya. SO good!
I felt this recipe was a good starting off point and base. I knew with only 1 TB of Cajun seasoning and 3 cloves of garlic, it would be under flavored for my tastes.
I layered it like the video showed and no burn warnings. I used chicken thighs so it would be juicier/more tender, and coated the chicken at the top of the instapot with paprika, Cajun seasoning, creole seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. I added an extra 1/2 c. of water to be sure it didn’t burn (but probably wasn’t necessary). Used regular canned diced tomatoes instead of fire roasted and chicken andouille sausage cooked on the stove and added in after so it wouldn’t come out rubbery.
Some cilantro on top at the end. It was really good!!!
This is the worst recipe I have ever seen. Where is the cooking time? The Instapot minutes and how to release?
Lazy…
Sooooo delicious! I made it using boneless, skinless chicken thighs and it was superb!
Hey Lindsay…great recipe. I’ve made it a few times. In the I.P., Crockpot, and a dutch oven. Always turns out wonderful and delicious. I thought I would pass this along to you…the recipe needs a “-” in it. I forwarded this to a new cook and she looked all over for a 114 oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes!! The recipe looks like that is the correct amount, and experienced cooks would realize that it’s 1-14 oz can. But maybe put that – in there to clarify it. Thanks from a fellow Minnesotan!
Great feedback. Thank so much, Karen!
The directions are a bit vague. Am I supposed to do a quick release or a natural (timed) release? You just say to cook 8 minutes, so I am assuming a quick release after that. Correct? This recipe sounds so good and I would like to try it, but am confused about the directions. Thanks!
A quick release or natural release will both work! If doing natural release, 10 minutes is what we’d recommend. Enjoy!
Made this last night, big hit with my wife and I. I would post the pic if I could!
Happy to hear it was a hit, Pierre!
I made the recipe with adding some broth. Chicken was still raw in the middle after 8 minutes. I cooked another 4 minutes, and it was perfect.
Thanks for the feedback, Rebecca!
Ended up tasting great but had to add a little more than a cup of water. Pretty frustrating trying to get the insta pot to get enough pressure. Not sure the measurements are the best. Kept getting the burn signal too. But like I said, ended up tasting pretty great.
this was so easy and delicious! great for meal prep. Loved it with sour cream and cheese on it 🙂
So happy to hear that, Emma! Thanks for the comment!